April 11, 2011

My 13-year-old nephew recommends books

Book recommendations by Gabe, age 13.

1: reserved for the best book in the world

2: being the best

3: being amazing

The Hunger Games; Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games is an AMAZING book that keeps you guessing at every turn, but there are only two downsides, almost everybody in the world has already read it, and it is super violent (and when I say violent, I MEAN it!!!), I’d give it a 3 because of all the violence.

The Maximum Ride Series; James Patterson: Max is a teenage girl who is 98% human, and 2% bird. They are mutants stuck in the School. They’re pretty much lab rats until they make a daring escape, and I can’t tell you much more otherwise it will give away the ending, but READ IT!!!! I would give it a 2, for being such a good read.

The Jimmy Fincher Saga; James Dashner: Jimmy Fincher is an ordinary boy that, while climing a tree, sees the mayor dispatch (not kill, but don’t tell that to your kid) of someone, and is taken hostage. He finds out about a murderous plot for an old man (can’t remember his name) to gain unparalleled powers, so it’s up to Jimmy to beat him at his own game. I would give it a 2.5, because this was my favorite series for so many years.

Slathbog’s Gold; M. L. Forman: This is my very favorite book EVER!!! The series is Adventurer’s Wanted, and it is about a boy named Alex, who sees a mysterious sign in a book store. When he goes in to ask about it, he is rushed into a wonderful adventure with delights at every turn. This is the only book I can give a 1, because it is the BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD (besides Shannon Hale’s books that is)!!! [Shannon says: you are totally in the running for favorite nephew]

The Girl That Could Fly; Victoria Forester: This is a book that I absolutely could NOT put down. I stayed up ‘till midnight reading secretly in bed, and I only slept because my eyes couldn’t stay open long enough to get half a page. Reading this book should be a no-brainer for anybody. It is about a little girl named Piper McCloud, who can fly. So she is shipped off to an institute called I. N. S. A. N. E., where there are other children with “gifts”, but something isn’t right about the place… It is a great book and I would give it a 2.

Simon Bloom the Gravity Keeper; Michael Reisman: This is a delightful science-fiction book about a boy named Simon who finds a Book (capitalized for a reason) that gives him power over physics. But what he doesn’t know is that another, more sinister figure by the name of Sir is looking for the book, and will get it by any means… Great book, 2 stars.

Hatchet; Gary Paulsen: This is an amazing book about a boy named Brian, who gets stranded in the middle of nowhere, and has to survive with nothing but a hatchet. Amazing, 2 stars.

The Book of Three; Lloyd Alexander: I thought this book would be a “drag”, but it was actually one of the books I looked forward to reading the most every day. It is a whole new telling of “The Black Cauldron”. 2 stars (as always)

Gregor the Overlander; Suzanne Collins: This is an amazing story about an “Overlander” called Gregor, who gets sucked up with his little sister into an amazing world of giant cockroaches and rats, it may not seem good, But READ IT! 2 stars.

A Whole Nother Story; Dr. Cuthbert Soup: This is a completely random, but hilarious story about a psychic dog, a time machine, and a sock puppet named Steve. Really funny, 2 stars.

Artemis Fowl; Eoin Colfer: Fantasy meets science in this wonderful world of two races, humans and fairies (High tech and extremely trigger happy fairies to be exact). A Must-Read, 2 stars.

The Far Side; Gary Larson: This is not really a book, but the funniest series of comic strips on earth. Hilarious, 2 stars.

Eragon; Christopher Paolini: Possibly the greatest book on earth (thought the 3rd book is better), This Is A Book You Must Force Your Kids To Read (well technically, you have to force it into their hands and make them look at the first word, then they won’t ever let it go)!!! 2.5 stars for being so great!

Fablehaven; Brandon Mull: This is one of the best books ever, except the fact that this first book is not the “hook you in and won’t let go ‘till you finish” kind of book, you have to muscle your way through the first part, then you won’t be able to put it down again. 2 stars

World of Grayham; Phillip Jones: A really good book, in which two world collide (unfortunately not literally). Sam, George, and Shalee are taken from Earth, and are kept in time bending chambers, and are brought to Grayham, because earth was destroyed in the God Wars. Awesome, 2 stars.

Magyk; Angie Sage: This is an amazing book about a boy named Septimus Heap who is the seventh son of a seventh son. I can’t remember the rest, but it was a very good book, 2 stars.

So those are all of the books I can think of that I have thoroughly enjoyed so far. I know parents are trying to get their kids off the computers and away from the tv, but here is 1 tv show and 1 video game that every kid must watch/play: “Avatar; The Last Airbender” is a really funny animated tv show that the whole family can enjoy, While Minecraft is a really addicting sandbox game that can be downloaded for free by clicking the link in the description of this video.Thanks!

ATTENTION PUBLISHERS: My nephew Gabe will gladly accept any books you think he'd like. He's a voracious reader and he'll review his favs regularly here. Send via my publisher Bloomsbury. And isn't he a sweetheart? I'll tell you the truth about Gabe: not only is he smart, but he is kind. A true gem.

This list makes me so happy. It's so great to hear about a 13-year-old boy who loves reading. My favorite part: "I stayed up ‘till midnight reading secretly in bed, and I only slept because my eyes couldn’t stay open long enough to get half a page." Best feeling in the world!

When I was at ALA last summer, there was a herd of teen reviewers being given the gold-glove treatment, and let me tell you, anytime publishers hear of a READING BOY, they are deeply interested. Good luck, Gabe; we look forward to reading your reviews!

Thanks! I've read half of those and loved them, so the other half should be good. Must suggest Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson, as well. Totally random yet incredibly witty, with little gems of true insight hidden here and there.

Thanks for the great list! We loved the Artemis Fowl books (except the last one which seemed a little rushed and tried too hard to be... something...?) We are reading the Guardians of Ga'Hoole right now and loving those too.

Thanks Gabe. My boys love The Last Airbender and Minecraft as well. Every computer in our home now has Minecraft on it. My oldest, 12, is also now addicted to Game Maker. You can create your own 2d video games. You can google it.

Oh my gosh! I loved The Girl Who Could Fly! I'm so surprised to have found someone else who has read it- I've never seen it mentioned anywhere else. If he liked that, I'd recommend reading The Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy by Trenton Lee Stewart. In short, it is about a group of talented kids who have to save the world from an evil genius. (alot better then it sounds!)

(To Shannon Hale): Ahhhh i love your books! Especially Book of a Thousand Days. As well as Enna Burning. And all the rest! <3

(To your nephew):
AAH! I love the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, as does my entire family. It so much fun to watch, and so different from all the rubbish that comes on T.V. nowadays. (Zevo 3 is fun too ^_^ )

I love all the recommendations you gave, and the ones I haven't read, I'm SO GOING TO! (Yay, more to read!! <3 ) I'm a little annoyed about THG getting a 3 though- it's an awesome book, that reflects the state of the world today. Yes, there's violence, but that isn't grounds for giving it a 3 rating. I think S. Collins was trying to make a point about human nature and power and things. The world of Panem has wars, and torture, child labor and dictatorship, all of which is found in today's world. I mean, a lot of classics have all this in their stories, yet people absolutely love and admire them, so why is that not acceptable in Collin's book? I'm not saying I support war OR torture OR child labor OR dictatorship- I don't, at all- but that is what THG is ABOUT so you can't rate it as a not-as-good book, because that's what the book is about, because it's an awesome book. Like, rating 2 or 1 awesome. (*sigh* now I'm rambling, aren't I?)
But I suppose people are entitled to their opinion.

I agree with all the books above (those that I've read, anyway - I haven't read Maximum Ride and don't remember much about Artemis Fowl), but The Book of Three isn't a retelling - it's the original story, and the first of five books.

Alexander Key's books are awesome, by the way! Escape to Witch Mountain (the original story), Return From Witch Mountain (written after the movie was made), and lots of other fun books (including The Forgotten Door and The Case of the Vanishing Boy).

This is such a great list, and there's so much I haven't read, dang it!!!! Fablehaven, The Girl that could Fly, Maximum Ride...I have to get started. The Hunger Games is major amazing, (but it's true, the violence is NOT for the faint of heart.) I have a huge amount of love for Avatar the Last Airbender...it's not very often you find a TV show with such well rounded plot and characters. So good!!!!

Actually this is my daughter talking she is 11: I have read most of these books and LOVE them Fable haven was one of my favorites. I also learned that the Hunger game were based on a greek myth about how every week or something like that and eleven girls and eleven boys are taken to the minotour to be eaten. Another really great book you might want to read isTHew invention of Hugo Cabret,And the City of Ember, And of course I hope you have read the harry potter series!!!!
Thnx for the great reviews
Brie S.

Leviathan ( Steampunk take on world war one hard to describe but really good also Scott Westerfeld)

Jack Blank and the Imagine Nation ( who wouldn't want to find out they were a super hero??!! I forget who it's by)

Peter and the Star Catchers ( You've probably read these already but incase you haven't. My brother and I both really enjoyed them, Ridley Pearson and hrm someone else)

Anybodies ( GRREEAAAT book about people who can turn into other people and a curious old lady with house built out of books and well I shan't spoil it! N.E. Bode lol series continued by somebodies, and Nobodies )

Seven Sleeper Series ( grew up on these! Fantastic science fiction about the world after this huge war and just really rather super cool )

And last but certainly not least I have one for one of my favorite authors Mrs. Hale! :) It's my dad and I's favorite book. The book is Swan Lake by Chris Van Allsburg and Mark Helprin. Don't let the title deceive you it's full of action, adventure, and romance the perfect recipe for a good book ( But I can see that you already know this!) :)

Hi! I've been enjoying and following your blog for a while now, but never dared post before! I loved the recommendations. Gabe should definitely read the rest of the Chronicles of Prydain; they get even better as the series goes on. (I'm 22 and still read them occasionally!) I'm glad he suggested Fablehaven. I saw that Shannon had posted it as a favorite book, and I got it in Spanish to keep up my skills, but couldn't get into it (which almost never happens). So, I will try again! Thanks! :)

I love all of these- and the ones I haven't yet read, I'm planning on checking them out. Just one comment though-
Disney's "The Black Cauldron" was based on Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" of which "The Book of Three" is the first.

Thanks for the list. It's really hard to find good books without the whole really gory/why-would-you-publish-a-book-with-THAT-in-it kind of books and its great to see so many others have read these and liked them too.

Out of all those books I've read I love them all! Plus Shannon Hales too!!! I would recommend the Clockwork Three. The summary on the back sounds kinda lame but it's really awesome and I found myself secretly staying up to finish it. Gave you have to read it!

I love reading as much as you do, I've read almost every book in my public library. I'm in sixth grade, but I'm reading at an eleventh grade level. I think you should try "The Graveyard Book," Gabe. It's about a boy who's parents get murdered, and he lives with ghosts. BTW, I love your mom's books!

Professor Bradford Scharlott of Northern Kentucky University wrote a 29-page dissertation attempting to convey the theory that Sarah Palin's baby is really her daughter Bristol's.

Scharlott notes that news of her daughter being pregnant would have damaged her campaign.
He faults the American public for falling for what may be one of the biggest hoaxes in U.S political history and the professor seeks his own evidence to back up his suspicions.

According to Scharlott, Palin's actual labor was hushed and there is no record naming Trig Palin as a child born in any hospital that day, nor is there a listing of the mother.

I have read and loved about 5 of Gabe's suggestions and fully intend to read the others.
Books I would recommend:

The Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz
About a 14 year old British spy.

The Mushroom Planet Books by Eleanor Cameron
About two boys who answer an ad in the paper about building a spaceship and embark on a trip to "Basidium" a.k.a. the mushrom planet. They're pretty old, but awesome.

The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques
These are kind of different from the rest that I have recommended in that there are no human characters. They are all rats, mice, birds, etc. But they're super cool.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
(If you haven't read any of them yet, you have some serious repenting to do. ;)

I love your books Shannon! And thanks for recommending some books, Gabe.
Have you read the fairytale Bluecrest? I LOVE IT. I really wish it could be made into a novel but even just reading it is so satisfying especially in the golden book of fairytales...

I LOVE the Hunger Games! Each time I read them I understand them a degree further. Sometimes they make me sad, but I can't help snatching one of them off the shelf and reading the whole thing in one sitting ;)

I think hed like "Howls moving castle." Good book. its a three series. Hes my age so i like he might.
I have another fav. book. WINGS OF A FALCON! all time fav!!!!!!
Its a three book series also but VERY twisty turny i guess you could call it.